


lovers (live a little longer)

by moonhugs



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Kissing, This is such a cliche but I love it, if i go crazy and eventually add smut im SORRY, lesbianism at its finest, they are absolutely in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonhugs/pseuds/moonhugs
Summary: A touch on the back while making coffee. A stolen glance while reviewing a new case. A brushing of hands while taking notes.Garcia sees it. She’s seen it since day one.And hey, sharing a bed with the woman she's secretly in love with was definitely on Prentiss's bucket list.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 8
Kudos: 190





	lovers (live a little longer)

**Author's Note:**

> During early season 3 with no Will or Henry - I'm menphobic.

A touch on the back while making coffee. A stolen glance while reviewing a new case. A brushing of hands while taking notes. 

Garcia sees it. She’s seen it since day one.

But, her badgering of Prentiss is often to no avail. And her harmless, constant bugging of JJ is commonly met with a grumbled note about “unprofessionalism,” whatever _that_ is. Her countless attempts to get the two alone together almost always seem to fall through. Hell, she might as well lock them in the BAU and let fate run its course.

The way the two women stare at each other from across the bullpen doesn’t go unnoticed by Morgan either.

In fact, him and Reid have already placed their bets.

$20 they’ll get together by the end of the month is Reid’s, which Morgan accuses of being _far_ too generous. $25 says the end of this week is Morgan’s, which Reid contrastingly accuses of being _far_ too soon. And it might be... _if_ Morgan didn’t have a little help on the inside.

Given, those are only the bets _they_ know about. Hotch and Rossi are ahead of the game, technically speaking. Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, one of their favorite pastimes is playing matchmaker. (Often with new recruits). It’s an offense they’ve only revealed at quite a few weddings, and even more engagements.

  
  
It’s a typical late night at the BAU when Garcia enacts her ploy. Most of the team has left, and Garcia’s far too worried about being the last one there to even check if she really is. She has one task left: booking a hotel for the team for tomorrow night. 

Garcia loves this part - it’s nearly her favorite part of the job. Normally, Hotch or Rossi pulls all the strings...makes all the matches...but not now. _Now_ it’s her turn.

She’s done it before. It’s not exactly hard to tell a little white lie: “Sorry, these were the only rooms available.” And, if you consider the bots she had book all remaining rooms, she’s _technically_ not lying.

“Hey baby girl,” a voice echoes from the doorway.

Garcia is snapped out of her trance, harshly blinking to freshen her eyes from the bright computer screen she had zoned out in front of.

“Morgan!” she jumps, “You scared the shit out of me.”

Morgan chuckles, “My bad, I just wanted to make sure everything’s going according to plan.”

“If by ‘according to plan’ you mean to ask me if I have successfully ensured that our two lovebirds will be sharing a hotel room tomorrow night, then yes, everything is going ‘according to plan.’”

“Hell yeah. Reid’s gonna be so pissed.”

“I can’t believe you’re seriously cheating him on this bet.”

“Technically _I_ didn’t do anything.”

Garcia turns back to her computer, closing a few tabs and logging out of the system. She grabs her bag, stands, and pushes in her chair. “Uh-huh.”

“Come on, we both know they wouldn’t last till the end of this week anyways. I’m just...helping them out.”

“Yeah, yeah. But be nice, or next time I’m sticking you with Hotch.”

—

The team stands in the lobby of what’s probably one of the nicest hotels in Texas. They’d stayed at fancy hotels before - always a refreshing change of scenery from the dingy motels lining the outskirts of a crime scene. And those motels were cozy, especially when the group would gather together every so often to play cards and drink for unwise amounts of time. (Normally for particularly grueling cases).

Despite her nonexistent presence, Garcia loved such occasions just as much as the rest of them. How could she _not_ look forward to a string of drunk phone calls from Prentiss at 3am? Or, better yet, a series of hungover apology-calls the next morning. At least they gave her some fresh blackmail material.

But, overlooking the humor she found within them, Penelope easily sensed the desperation in Emily’s voice. The way she spoke about JJ - _even_ while tragically slurring her words - was almost enough to bring her to tears. When promptly asked about such calls, Prentiss was quick to deny their existence, to which Penelope rolled her eyes... _as if_ she didn’t have them saved to her hard drive.

JJ, on the other hand, was apparently an advocate for drunk texting. And Garcia wasn’t about to complain - _at least_ she couldn’t deny _or_ delete those. Absolutely nothing could match the adrenaline rush of a 2am text, reading “PeN!!! Xoxo I hav a crushhh… hehe <3”

As much as she enjoyed the womens’ calls and texts, she was determined to turn their depressing cries of loneliness into (hopefully) tipsy voicemails from the two of them...together. 

This plan went into action _just about_...now.

Hotch looked at the paperwork he had printed back in Quantico for the hotel. He squinted his eyes at the crumpled piece of paper, making sure he was reading the notes Garcia had left (in sparkly pink ink) correctly.

“Guys,” he called the group’s attention, “Garcia booked the hotel for tonight, and it looks like we’re going to have to double up.” 

Morgan’s face lit up, “Say less.”

“Apparently she’s already finalized the pairings, so it’s me and Rossi, Reid and Morgan, _and_ … Prentiss and JJ.”

The women shared a knowing glance and smile. 

Emily was nervous, to say the least. They hadn’t shared a room for quite a few cases. Hell, the last room they shared was an outdated, rustic motel room, which—from its looks alone—had convinced the two of them that death was imminent. It’s safe to say that it wasn’t the most comforting feeling, especially while on a case centered around a motel killer.

But, this time was different. 

“So,” JJ walked alongside Prentiss to the elevator, “looks like we’re rooming together tonight, then.”

Prentiss smiled, looking down at the blonde, “Yeah,” she choked out, nervous. “Hopefully it’s nicer than the one we shared last time.”

“You mean you _didn’t_ like the deer head pinned to the wall?” JJ teased. 

“Oh _of course_ ,” Prentiss jokes, “I _loved_ it when I scared the shit out of myself walking to the bathroom at 1am.”

JJ chuckles, reminiscing on her memory of Emily screaming as she tripped on the TV remote and just barely avoided headbutting the poor animal.

“That’s actually one of my favorite memories of you.”

Prentiss’s face reddens. The two of them step into the elevator, their suitcases making painful clinking noises as their wheels get stuck in the gap. 

“Oh really?”

“Yeah,” JJ retorts, “top 5 for sure.”

JJ presses the button of their floor, which lights up to be a bright red. ‘ _Just about matches Em’s face now_ ,’ she thinks to herself.

“And what’s the number one?”

“I dunno…” JJ shifted her gaze to meet that of Prentiss, “I don’t think it’s happened yet.”

“Ooh. Well, let me know when I finally make that one.”

“I will.”

The elevator dings and the doors open. The two women drag their clearly overpacked suitcases down the hall, eventually stopping at a door.

“Room 777?” Emily asks.

“That’s us!”

“Huh,” she pauses for a moment, “isn’t that supposed to be lucky?”

“I guess so.”

JJ scans the room key and pushes the door open - Prentiss follows her inside. 

In the room, a short hallway leads from the door to the ‘bedroom area.’ In the miniature hallway is a small kitchenette, as well as a closet and door to the bathroom. 

Prentiss leaves her suitcase by the bed and walks towards the large window, overlooking the city. The sky is momentarily turning from a dim reddish-orange to a cooler, almost indigo blue. She notes the blinking lights from buildings and cars, each of them creating a start-like appearance, forming a sky of their own in not-so-little Dallas, Texas. 

_‘Wow_ ,’ Emily thinks to herself, ‘ _Garcia really wanted to set the mood_.’ She turns and looks back at the remainder of the room, where JJ is now moving her suitcase (after a quick intermission in the glamorous bathroom, which Prentiss mentally chastises herself for not checking out sooner). 

‘ _Everything’s perfect, I mean, the view, the huge television, the bed… wait.... the bed(?_ )’

“JJ,” Emily calls. 

JJ’s knelt on the floor, digging through her suitcase - probably for pajamas. “Yeah?”

“Hotch didn’t say there was only one bed.”

The blonde’s eyes fixate on the large bed in the center of the room. She mouths an ‘Oh,’ but stays silent.

“I mean, not that it’s a problem,” Prentiss nervously stammers, worried that she could have offended the younger woman, “there’s just not really, um, a couch either.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to bug someone about it,” JJ glances to the clock on their nightstand, “especially not at 10.”

“Of course not,” the brunette agrees, forcing a weary smile, “I guess we can share, if that’s fine with you.”

“As long as you don’t snore,” JJ teases. 

Prentiss brings her hand to her chest, faking offense, “Jennifer Jareau, I cannot believe that you of _all_ people would accuse me of such a thing.”

“You’ll have a chance to prove your innocence tonight!”

“Good!”

JJ picks up the pajamas she had previously been searching for, “I’m gonna go get changed - you should probably do the same.”

Prentiss nods, “I will. Maybe - after - we could watch a movie or something?”

“Yeah! We can see what’s on TV.”

“Sounds perfect.”

—

Moments, later JJ emerged from the bathroom in her nightly attire, while Prentiss waited eagerly on the bed.

“I’ve been flipping through a few channels,” the brunette stated.

“And? Anything good?”

“Depends if you like ‘ _You’ve Got Mail_.’”

JJ’s face lit up - she walked towards the bed, “It’s only my favorite romcom in the _entire_ world.”

“Then ‘ _You’ve Got Mail_ ’ we shall watch!”

Prentiss stood and walked around to her side of the bed (tonight, she had claimed the left), sitting on the edge and opening the covers for the two of them. 

Only the dim glow of JJ’s nightstand lamp illuminated the room as they slid into bed and rearranged the pillows to their liking. The movie was already about a fourth of the way over, but it didn’t bug the women. Beginnings were boring - they _always_ were - and they longed to delve right into the romance. 

  
  
As expected, neither of them _really_ paid attention to the movie. And how could they? There were so many jokes to be made, comments to voice, glances to steal, and giggles to share that the two could hardly resist. 

JJ’s heart skipped a beat when Prentiss had first scooted closer to her. She had told herself that it was only in order to hear her better - she mumbles, _right_? That had to be the reason. But, butterflies were existent in the younger woman’s stomach whenever the brunette would double-over with laughter, pressing her side even more firmly against her own than before. 

Prentiss felt it too. She could hardly control herself when the blonde’s head came close to resting on her shoulder. Inches - no, centimeters - no, scratch that, _millimeters_ more - and they were practically cuddling. 

JJ’s blonde locks were already covering her shoulder, due to their close proximity, and it was taking just about every last ounce of energy within the older woman not to make a move that she’d likely regret seconds later. 

Luckily for her, JJ was already much farther down that path. 

Tired of propping her head up with her arm while talking to the other agent, JJ’s weariness and desperate desire for closeness took over - she inched her own body downwards and rested a head on Prentiss’s shoulder. 

And, before she could even register this senseless action, she had already moved her right hand to be resting on the brunette’s bicep.

It took Prentiss quite a few seconds to finally register JJ’s actions. Anxious, but filled with a longing and suppressed excitement, Emily looked down at the younger woman, admiring the way the glowing reflections from the TV danced upon her skin, making golden shapes and swirls. This light was a pleasant, subtle contrast from the darker blue shadows, concealing the majority of the room. 

After less than a minute, Prentiss, too, gave in. She rested her own head lightly upon the blonde’s. 

Was it the most physical contact the two women had made to date? Yes - Prentiss, _of course_ , knew that. She wasn’t paying attention to the movie anymore. Her mind was elsewhere - busy, daydreaming of how much she would love to nuzzle further into the other woman’s hair. Daydreaming about how much she wanted to wrap her arms around the other woman, pull her as close as physically possible, and never let her go. Daydreaming about how easy it would be for her to intertwine their hands, to brush lightly over the other woman’s knuckles.

JJ was contemplating similar prospective occurrences. Thinking about how much she craved to be able to tuck her head fully under that of Prentiss. Thinking about how she’d give anything to be able to fall asleep in the other woman’s arms. Thinking about how she could die right here and now and be perfectly happy. 

Both women were removed from their worlds of fantasy when a familiar scene played upon the screen. It was the ending, when both characters met in the garden and professed their love. 

JJ slowly edged her head upwards, causing Prentiss to move hers as well. The blonde planned on making a playful remark about the scene unfolding before them, but, as their eyes met, she knew it would be no use. 

Prentiss knew the scene all too well, and tears were beginning to form in her eyes - this was _all_ she had ever wanted. 

And, as the anticipated line played in the background (“don’t cry, shop girl”), both women knew they were goners. 

As JJ leaned even closer towards the brunette, her eyes not-so-subtly lingering on her lips, Prentiss moved her hand to cup the side of JJ’s face and bring it closer to her own. 

JJ quickly did the same, their lips colliding for what felt like an eternity. 

Refusing to pause for air, Prentiss moved the rest of her body closer to the blonde’s, so that it was nearly on top of the other woman. She moved her hand to the lower part of JJ’s back, slowly sliding it down further to rest on her ass. 

The two women only broke apart a few times - they greatly dreaded these moments. 

During one such ‘intermission,’ JJ paused and looked up at the older woman.

“Em,” JJ breathed softly. 

Emily smiled, “Jayje.” She brushed a stray strand of hair out of the blonde’s face. 

“This,” she placed another kiss on the brunette's lips, “is your number one memory.”


End file.
